Avaldsnes Church

{{short description|Church in Rogaland, Norway}} {{Infobox church |name = Avaldsnes Church |full_name = Avaldsnes kirke |former_name = |image = Avaldsnes Church 2.jpg |caption = View of the church |website = |coordinates = {{coord|59.35591|5.291558|region:NO_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |location = [[Karmøy Municipality]], [[Rogaland]] |country = [[Norway]] |churchmanship = [[Evangelical Lutheran]] |denomination = [[Church of Norway]] |previous_denomination = [[Catholic Church]] |diocese = [[Diocese of Stavanger|Stavanger bispedømme]] |deanery = [[Karmøy prosti]] |parish = Avaldsnes |status = [[Parish church]] |functional_status = Active |founded = 11th century |consecrated = |groundbreaking = c. 1250 |completed = 1320 |closed = |events = |dedication = [[Saint Olav]] |architect = |architectural_type = [[Long church]] |length = {{convert|47|m}} |width = {{convert|13.5|m}} |style = [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] |materials = Stone, wooden roof |capacity = 400 |embedded = {{Norwegian Cultural Heritage Site |embed = yes |Type = Church |Status = Automatically protected |ID = 83833 }} }}

'''Avaldsnes Church''' ({{langx|no|Avaldsnes kirke}}, formally ''St. Olav's Church at Avaldsnes'', {{langx|no|St Olavskirken på Avaldsnes}}) is a [[parish church]] of the [[Church of Norway]] in [[Karmøy Municipality]] in [[Rogaland]] county, [[Norway]]. It is located in the village of [[Avaldsnes]] on the northern part of the [[Karmøy (island)|island of Karmøy]]. It is the church for the Avaldsnes [[parish]] which is part of the [[Karmøy prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Stavanger]]. The [[medieval]] stone church was built in a [[long church]] design by an unknown [[architect]]. The first church located here was likely built before the year 1024 on the site of [[Avaldsnes Kongsgård estate]]. The present stone church was built in 1250. The church seats about 400 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avaldsnes kirke |url=https://kirkesok.no/kirke/1892 |access-date=2020-10-10 |publisher=Kirkesøk: Kirkebyggdatabasen}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oversikt over Nåværende Kirker |url=http://www.kirkekonsulenten.no/kirker.htm |access-date=2020-10-10 |publisher=KirkeKonsulenten.no |language=Norwegian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Avaldsnes kirke |url=http://www.haugalandet.net/ht000108.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110072739/http://www.haugalandet.net/ht000108.htm |archive-date=2015-11-10 |access-date=2015-11-23 |publisher=Haugesund Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Olavskirken |url=https://avaldsnes.info/olavskirken/ |access-date=September 1, 2020 |website=Avaldsnes}}</ref>

==History== [[File:Avaldsnes på Karmøy 1820.jpg|thumb|left|300px|''Ruined Church at Avaldsnes at Karmøy'', [[Johan Christian Dahl]] (1820)]]

Before this church was constructed, there was a wooden church on the same site around the year 1024. That church is assumed to have been built by [[Olav Trygvason]], and it is possible that the present stone church is built around this church originally. The church was mentioned by the historian [[Snorri Sturluson]] in chapter 19 of his book ''Soga om Olav den heilage''.<ref name="km">{{cite web |title=Avaldsnes kirkested |url=http://www.kulturminnesok.no/kulturminnesok/kulturminne/?LOK_ID=83833 |accessdate=2020-10-10 |publisher=[[Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage]] |language=Norwegian}}</ref>

This church has been a landmark for seafarers passing through the [[Karmsundet]] strait for 750 years. King [[Haakon IV of Norway|Håkon IV Håkonsson]] gave permission to replace the old wooden church with a stone church around the year 1250. The new stone building was not completed until nearly 1320, and was then the fourth largest in the country. The church was dedicated to [[Olaf II of Norway|St. Olav]] and received the status of "Royal Chapel". During the same period it became one of four "college-churches" (it appointed a council of theological and juridical scholars). Probably there was a group of four scholars and teachers in law and theology. The stone church had a rectangular [[nave]] and narrower, rectangular [[chancel]] as well as a large tower to the west.<ref name="km" />

There was an octagonal stone room located to the south of the [[Quire (architecture)|quire]]. This octagonal room was a [[chapter house]] (''kapittelhus''). These rooms were common for [[England|English]] [[cathedral]]s and they were used for large group meetings. This room is assumed to have been referenced in 1599 by clergyman and historical writer [[Peder Claussøn Friis]] (1545–1614). Remaining walls for this room were visible as late as 1840, but are now completely gone.<ref name="km" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Peder Claussøn Friis |url=https://nbl.snl.no/Peder_Clauss%C3%B8n_Friis |access-date=2020-09-01 |website=Norsk Biografisk Leksikon}}</ref>

Decay started with the [[Black Death]] in 1349–1351. This disaster was followed by 400 years of [[Denmark-Norway|Danish]] supremacy. In this period, the church gradually fell into a state of ruin due to lack of repair. By 1599, the [[Quire (architecture)|quire]] was the only room left in the old church that was still usable. During the 17th century, a little wooden church was built inside the stone walls and this was used for more than 200 years.<ref name="km" />

In 1814, this church served as an [[election church]] ({{langx|no|valgkirke}}).<ref name="lhw">{{Cite web |title=Valgkirkene |url=https://lokalhistoriewiki.no/wiki/Valgkirkene |access-date=2021-02-06 |website=LokalHistorieWiki.no |language=Norwegian}}</ref> Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 [[Norwegian Constituent Assembly]] which wrote the [[Constitution of Norway]]. This was Norway's first national elections. Each [[prestegjeld|church parish]] was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet at [[Eidsvoll Manor]] later that year.<ref name="lhw" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Om valgene |url=http://1814.arkivverket.no/#about-elections |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205923/http://1814.arkivverket.no/#about-elections |archive-date=24 June 2021 |access-date=2021-02-06 |website=Valgene i 1814 |publisher=Arkivverket |language=Norwegian}}</ref>

The first restoration work began in 1830. The old steeple was demolished, the [[nave]] was rebuilt, and a small wooden steeple was erected on the top. In the 1920s the church was once again restored in a manner which was more similar to its original architecture. A new stone steeple was built and the interior renewed.<ref name="km" />

The [[Nazi Germany|German]] occupation in [[World War II]] became dramatic for the church. German officials asserted that the high steeple was used as a landmark for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] planes, coming in over the strait of [[Karmsund]] to drop bombs in the water. German authorities demanded the steeple be demolished. Many people were engaged in the task of saving it, and they persuaded the German military to let them [[camouflage]] the whole church with [[timber]]. This was to be done in 5 weeks, but the whole job lasted a year. The front of the church bears a couple of bullet holes.

The stained glass windows were ordered for the 700th anniversary in 1950. They were the creation of by Norwegian artist Bernhard Greve (1886-1962) from [[Lofthus, Vestland|Lofthus]] who worked mainly with stained glass, fresco, and ceramic sculpture. The windows portrayed important events in the life of [[Christ]]: baptism, passion, ascension, and resurrection.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 February 2017 |title=Bernhard Greve |url=https://nkl.snl.no/Bernhard_Greve |access-date=2020-09-01 |website=Norsk Kunstnerleksikon}}</ref>

The altar, [[baptismal font]], and [[pulpit]] were designed in the 1920s by Norwegian functionalist architect Eivind Moestue (1893-1977). The baptismal basin dates back to the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 February 2017 |title=Eivind Moestue |url=https://nkl.snl.no/Eivind_Moestue |access-date=2020-09-01 |website=Norsk Kunstnerleksikon}}</ref>

==Design and architecture== The pointed arches, but thick walls and no [[column|pillar]]s, suggest an early [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] design. The walls are composed of ordinary gray stone in thickness about {{convert|1.2|to|2|m}}. The corners and frames around the doors and windows are of [[steatite]] (soapstone) from Tolgetjønn near [[Haugesund (town)|Haugesund]].

==Mary's Needle== Mary's Needle ({{langx|no|Jomfru Marias synål}}) is the only one remaining of several monumental stones which once stood around the church area. The stone has been somewhat taller, but, towering at {{convert|7.2|m}} it is still the second largest of its kind in Norway. The stone leans in towards the church wall—the distance to the wall is in fact only {{convert|9.2|cm}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jomfru Marias Synål |url=https://avaldsnes.info/olavskirken/subpage/ |access-date=2020-09-01 |website=Avaldsnes}}</ref>

==Media gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="135px"> Norway Avaldsnes church overview.JPG|View of the church Avaldsnes-Jungfrau Maria Nahnadel.jpg|View of Mary's needle ChristenSchaaning.jpg|A 1663 painting of Christen Bentsen Schaaning by Scottish painter [[Andrew Lawrenceson Smith|Andrew Smith]] P1150962 Avaldsnes kirke gotisk portal.JPG|Main doors to the church Avaldsnes kirke, Rogaland - Riksantikvaren-T237 01 0017.jpg|Historic view of the church with the old tower No-nb digibok 2014091028002 0029 1.jpg|Painting of the church before its 19th-century renovations </gallery>

==List of priests== ''Note: this list is not entirely complete, additionally medieval priests are only sporadically known.'' {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Bård (Bardones): 1290s-1301 * Eirik: 1298 * Hallr: 1322 * Jon: 1322 * Hallstein Sigurdsson: 1341 * Thorkel Vikingsson: 1392 * Asleuer Guttormsson: 1446 * Niels: 1518-1524 * Hans Diser: 1521 * Mikkel Schytte: 1531-1545 * Hans Klingenberg: 1540- * Rasmus Torsen: 1553-1557 * Christoffer Sigurdsen: 1560-1606 * Abraham Engelbretsson Karsund: 1607-1628 * [[Christen Bentsen Schaaning]]: 1634-1679 * Bernt Christensen Schaaning: 1679-1689 * Christen Christoffersen Hegelund: 1689-1695 * Lucas Rasmussen Friis: 1690-1695 * Anders Christoffersen Hegelund: 1695-1710 * Claus Claussen Munkeberg: 1711-1732 * Peder Anderssen Scheen: 1732-1734 * Knud Leem: 1734-1752 * Jens Jenssen Saxe: 1752-1763 * Peder Nicolai Daldorph: 1764-1773 * Richard Berg: 1773-1776 * Carsten Henrik Schanche: 1776-1789 * Jørgen Sverdrup: 1789-1807 * Hans Nicolai Cormontan: 1807-1814 * Johannes Irgens von Hadeln: 1814-1826 * Jacob von der Lippe: 1825-1831 * Johan Lyder Brun: 1832-1848 * Otto Ludvig Sinding: 1848-1860 * Jakob Wetlesen: 1861-1869 * Lars Oftedahl: 1870-1871 * Thomas Fredrik Weybye Barth: 1871-1879 * Johan Christian Selmer Andersen: 1879-1890 * Rasmus Mathias Rasmussen: 1891-1907 * Endre Pedersen Hove: 1908-1918 * Sverre Hougsnæs: 1919-1933 * Lars Skadberg: 1933-1956 {{div col end}}

==See also== *[[List of churches in Rogaland]]

==References== {{reflist}} {{commons category|Avaldsnes kirke}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050306012915/http://www.karmoyped.no/avaldpros/ Avaldsnes: Norway's oldest throne] * [http://www.nb.no/cgi-bin/galnor/gn_sok.sh?context=0&offset=0&skjema=0&type=e&tittel=avaldsnes+kirke&Start=S%F8k&fm=1&limit=20&user_offset=1 Picture gallery]

[[Category:Karmøy Municipality]] [[Category:Churches in Rogaland]] [[Category:Stone churches in Norway]] [[Category:13th-century churches in Norway]] [[Category:1250s works]] [[Category:10th-century establishments in Norway]] [[Category:Norwegian election churches]]